Questions on gear in humid/remote areas

[Nickk]

I am planning a trip near the end of the year and have some pretty specific issues that may come up. Ill be spending over a month in very humid environments, coupled with being far removed from the grid for about 3 days+ at a time. Trying to figure whether I should budget in extra batteries or looking into a decent portable solar charger like a 40watt folding array and 4 or so batteries.

The trade off in weight seems about the same, I think the solar array comes in around 2.5 lbs vs around 10 batteries, though I kind of like the idea of having the solar as a backup when I am far from an outlet. The main reason I have concern is whether the humidity will affect the way the charge is held. I figure I can shield my gear with the right bags but what about when things need to be changed out?

The primary concern I have is the humidity in general. I plan on taking my d600 as a backup to a d800 I'm getting on a trade. I know the d800 is weather sealed much better but what about lenses? I have a sigma 50 1.4, and probably going to bring a tamron 70-200 usd along with a 80-200 vr 2.8 as well as a 20mm 1.8d, maybe renting the 150-600 too. I plan on packing about 50-75 pounds of gear on hikes away from town. The thought of killing my lenses or body a couple days hike away from a town is terrifying considering the effort involved in just getting from point A to point B. How the heck do you swap a lens or battery in 90%++ humidity without killing a camera?
I'll be in Central and South America most of the trip. While I am in Costa Rica I am sure I can find shops and plenty of places with modern facilities, but at one point I will be heading fairly deep into the Amazon via boat and hiking around on foot. I am quite sure there is a hidden Wiki for traveling to dangerous regions and not killing your gear or being left photoless due to near sightedness.....but I cannot find it! :scratch: I might add that yes, I know what it takes to pack 60 or so pound of 'stuff" around. I already know Ill be physically miserable for a portion of the trip :blushing:

Any direct insight into photography in similar conditions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[tirediron]

Your gear will be just fine. The only real issue is making sure that you let it aclimate; that is, don't take it from a relatively dry, cool hotel room to the hot humid out doors and expect to use it in five minutes. Ideally, don't even bring it inside, but if that's not an option, plan on having it outside warming up at least an hour before your first shot. As for the charger/battery question, I'd go with the batteries over the charger, but really how many batteries will you need for three days? Turn the body off when not in use, turn the rear LCD down to minimum brightness & display time and you should easily get one day out of one battery.

 

[407370]

I regularly take pictures in searing heat and savage humidity and as described above the trick is to let the gear acclimatise slowly. If the heat gets too high wrap the camera in a towel until you actually need it. Take the extra battery option as they can be protected from weather easier than a charger.

I know it's almost heresy but would you consider using a superzoom like my FUJI HS20 then you would not need to hump a lot of gear and would not have to change lenses. Just a thought.

 

[Big Mike]

I concur with Tirediron.

The humidity itself probably won't be much of an issue, but you really have to careful when you take your gear from a cold air-conditioned space, into a warm humid environment. Condensation will form on the cold surfaces, inside and outside of your gear. When I was in Costa Rica, I did that a few times and it took almost 1/2 an hour for everything to clear up.

It may become a problem if you don't ever let your gear dry out, especially if you keep it locked into a camera bag.

I'd suggest keeping some desiccant packs in your camera bag.

As for power, I'd just go with a couple extra batteries.

 

[Tailgunner]

I do a lot of camping, just got back from a camping trip last weekend. Anyhow, I generally don't have issues with humidity since my gear is stored outside for the most part. This allows it to get acclimated to the climate. Now I would advice you keep some desiccant packs in your camera bag as mentioned above. I would also consider some hand warmer packets.

As for solar chargers, I use a Solio solar charger with a built in battery pack. The built in battery pack fully charged is enough to charge a smart phone twice or put a 50% charge on a tablet. I use my iPhone charger to charge the built in battery pack before leaving home and then I string it on the outside of my backpack or outside my tent so it can recharge.

http://store.solio.com/Solio-Store/CLASSIC2-Solar-Battery-Charger-S13-AF1RW

 

[Gavjenks]

Be aware that dessicant packs will saturate in like an hour in the tropics if just left sitting around in the open or in a loose camera bag. They might help, but if you use them, you'd have to keep the main supply airtight sealed, and only drop in one at a time every night or whatever. I might even consider putting it inside the camera (zoom lens out, stick packet in the air hole, attach lens, go to sleep, don't forget to remove the next morning). I can't promise that won't destroy everything in a fiery holocaust of chemically goodness, but I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work.

 

[KmH]

They make desiccant packs that can be dried out and re-used - if you have access to an oven.
Dry Packs Silica Gel Desiccant, 40gm

 

[Nickk]

That is awesome to hear on acclimating the gear prior to use, will definitely adhere to that. On the batteries issue the reason I was thinking of bringing that many was because of the shear volume of photos ill be taking. Thinking on it more know I supposed my storage capacity would be more of an issue than the battery life.

 

[sk66]

They make desiccant packs that can be dried out and re-used - if you have access to an oven.
Dry Packs Silica Gel Desiccant, 40gm

I use those in my cases. They will also regain much of their capability if set on a radiator (I have steam heat) overnight or next to a campfire (but if you overheat them the pellets explode/leak).
They also saturate rather quickly (~1 week) and that's when not exposed to excessive humidity (but not sealed off either)... they're great for inside a pelican case where the issue is more the moisture you may have sealed inside. For "normal" use I think they are just a hassle. They're constantly saturating at humidity levels I've never seen cause a problem.

The only time I've personally seen humidity being a problem is in rain when it gets sucked inside a lens and can't readily get back out... Push/pull zooms and extending zooms are bad for this. I've literally had to disassemble a lens in the field so I could use it the next day ("in the field" was tent camping during a MotoGP weekend). Long term it leads to mold/mildew on the lens elements. I would expect a camera with an extending fixed lens to have the same issue, but even worse as it would also affect the camera body.

It is very rare that I see a "dry air" humidity above 90% but above that I would expect the possibility to be similar (and possibly worse w/ condensation).

 

[vimwiz]

Put those silica gel packets in your camera bags. I have used these inside plastic bags to prevent fungus in old lenses.